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Christian Benford

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Christian Benford
No. 47 – Buffalo Bills
Position:Cornerback
Personal information
Born: (2000-09-21) September 21, 2000 (age 24)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:Randallstown
(Randallstown, Maryland)
College:Villanova (2018–2021)
NFL draft:2022 / round: 6 / pick: 185
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team FCS All-American (2021)
  • CAA Defensive Rookie of the Year (2018)
  • 2× First team All-CAA (2020, 2021)
  • Third team All-CAA (2018)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 8, 2024
Total tackles:113
Forced fumbles:2
Fumble recoveries:1
Pass deflections:19
Interceptions:4
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Christian Benford (born September 21, 2000) is an American professional football cornerback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Villanova.

Early life

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Benford was born in Baltimore, Maryland and grew up Randallstown, Maryland, where he attended Randallstown High School.[1] He was named All-Metro and All-Baltimore County as a senior and played for Maryland in the Big 33 Football Classic.[2] Benford committed to play college football at Villanova over an offer from Morgan State.[3]

College career

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Benford played in nine games with eight starts as a true freshman and was named the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Defensive Rookie of the Year and third-team All-CAA after making 49 tackles with six pass breakups and five interceptions.[4] He played in ten games with seven starts as a sophomore and broke up five passes with one interception.[5][6] Benford was named first-team All-CAA in his junior season, which was shortened and played in the spring of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.[7] As a senior, Benford recorded 39 tackles with seven interceptions and an NCAA Division I FCS-leading 18 passes broken up and was again named first-team All-CAA.[8]

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 0+1⁄2 in
(1.84 m) 		208 lb
(94 kg) 		31 in
(0.79 m) 		9+3⁄4 in
(0.25 m)		 4.53 s 1.51 s 2.63 s 4.34 s 7.10 s 35.0 in
(0.89 m)		 10 ft 4 in
(3.15 m)		 17 reps
All values from Pro Day[9]

Benford was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the sixth round, 185th overall, of the 2022 NFL draft.[10] Benford began the season as the starting cornerback for the Bills along with Dane Jackson, beating out fellow rookie and first-round pick Kaiir Elam. In his debut against the Los Angeles Rams he had 3 tackles and one pass defended.[11] Benford fractured his hand in a week 3 loss to the Miami Dolphins,[12] missing only two games and coming back in a week six victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. He was placed on injured reserve on November 26, 2022.[13] He was activated from injured reserve on January 6, 2023.[14]

Benford (#47) lining up against Allen Lazard (#10) of the New York Jets in 2023

Benford continued to start for the Bills in 2023, despite the return of All-Pro corner Tre'Davious White from injury, and he continued to start when White was injured again and eventually replaced by trade acquisition Rasul Douglas. In addition, Benford was healthier in his sophomore season, playing 15 games and starting 14, as opposed to just 5 starts and 9 overall games in his rookie season. In 2023, he recorded 51 total tackles, 10 passes defensed, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles, and only missed one tackle, enough for Pro Football Focus to give him their 8th highest score among corners that season, tied with Douglas.[15] In the playoffs, Benford injured his knee during the Bills' 31–17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild card round, becoming one of several defensive starters to miss the divisional round game against the Chiefs,[16] which Buffalo lost 27–24.[17]

In the early portion of the 2024 season, Benford, now firmly entrenched as the Bills' starting cornerback, earned a spot on PFF's "first quarter All-Pro" team for his stellar play. In addition to his high coverage grades, he was graded the best tackler among cornerbacks in the league at that point of the season.[18]

NFL career statistics

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Legend
Bold Career High

Regular season

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Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast TFL Sck Sfty PD Int Yds Avg Lng TD FF FR Yds Avg TD
2022 BUF 9 5 24 17 7 1 0.0 0 5 1 35 35.0 35 0 0 0 — — —
2023 BUF 15 14 54 43 11 3 0.0 0 10 2 8 4.0 8 0 2 1 0 0.0 0
2024 BUF 8 8 35 28 7 1 0.0 0 4 1 6 6.0 6 0 0 0 — — —
Career 32 27 113 88 25 5 0.0 0 19 4 49 12.3 35 0 2 1 0 0.0 0

Postseason

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Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast TFL Sck Sfty PD Int Yds Avg Lng TD FF FR Yds Avg TD
2023 BUF 1 1 1 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 - - - - 1 0 0 0.0 0
Career 1 1 1 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.0 0

References

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  1. ^ "NFL Draft Profile: Christian Benford, Cornerback, Villanova Wildcats". SI.com. April 10, 2022. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  2. ^ Dunn, Katherine (March 1, 2018). "Team Maryland roster announced for 61st annual Big 33 Football Classic". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  3. ^ "Defensive back Christian Benford commits to Villanova Football". VUHoops.com. SB Nation. July 18, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  4. ^ Sharp, Corey (April 4, 2019). "Villanova spring football practice notes: Christian Benford anxious to be 'spectacular,' quarterbacks compete". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  5. ^ Small, Tyler (September 16, 2021). "Villanova DB Christian Benford leading from the back of Wildcats' opportunistic defense". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  6. ^ "Benford has big hand in Villanova's first spring football win". Delaware County Daily Times. March 6, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  7. ^ Toohey, Terry (September 16, 2021). "Hard work has paid off for Villanova cornerback Christian Benford". Delaware County Daily Times. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  8. ^ Toohey, Terry (December 24, 2021). "Forrest Rhyne continues to pile up honors, tops list of Villanova All-Americans". Delaware County Daily Times. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  9. ^ "2022 Draft Scout Christian Benford, Villanova NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
  10. ^ Skurski, Jay (April 30, 2022). "Five things to know about Villanova cornerback Christian Benford, the second of three Bills' sixth-round picks". Buffalo News. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  11. ^ Talbot, Ryan (September 12, 2022). "Bills' Christian Benford reveals when he found out he would be starting vs. Rams". Syracuse.com. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  12. ^ Simmons, Myles (September 26, 2022). "Report: Christian Benford suffered fractured hand". Pro Football Talk. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  13. ^ @BuffaloBills (November 26, 2022). "We've signed CB Xavier Rhodes from the practice squad and placed CB Christian Benford on IR. #BillsMafia" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ^ Dimmitt, Zach (January 6, 2023). "Bills Officially Place Damar Hamlin on Injured Reserve". SI.com. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  15. ^ "Pro Football Focus: highest graded Buffalo Bills in 2023". BuffaLowDown. January 9, 2024. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  16. ^ "WR Davis, CB Benford among Bills players ruled out for playoff game vs Chiefs". AP News. January 19, 2024. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  17. ^ Parrino, Matt (January 22, 2024). "Bills lose to Chiefs (again) in playoff heartbreaker as kick goes wide right (Observations)". syracuse. Retrieved March 2, 2024. Buffalo was down multiple starters on defense, including middle linebacker Terrel Bernard and cornerback Christian Benford -- and it showed. The Chiefs couldn't be stopped, scoring on five of their first six possessions.
  18. ^ "Breakout Bills CB earns spot on PFF's first-quarter All-Pro team". Buffalo Bills On SI. October 4, 2024. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
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